Nkhata Bay, December 24, 2017: Three men, who hired a taxi on Friday from Mzuzu to Nkhata Bay, were arrested at Sanga after they failed to hijack the car they hired.
Confirming the arrest on Saturday, Nkhata Bay Police spokesperson Cecelia Mfune identified the suspects as Good Wells, 31, James Alick, 18, and James Kasiya, 19.
“The three suspects found taxi driver Kyalambwene Mwafilaso at his usual business place at 10:00 hours on Friday at Zolozolo Township within Mzuzu City.
“They hired Toyota Vits registration number BV2599 to ferry them to Nkhata Bay for a swim in Lake Malawi,” Mfune said.
She explained that Wells took the driver’s seat for a self-drive and upon reaching Sanga area in Nkhata Bay, the complainant, Mwafilaso, was hooked with a rope which made him to realize he was in danger.
“Mwafilaso pushed the first suspect (Wells) who was on the driving seat causing the vehicle to swerve and overturn three times about 60 meters off the tarmac road.
“He [Mwafilaso] then shouted for help and one suspect was arrested by the community while the other two ran away,” Mfune said.
She further said police rushed to the scene and managed to arrest the other two suspects who were found with offensive weapons like hammer, knife and ropes.
Mfune said the suspects will appear in the court of law soon to answer charges of robbery with violence.
“Let me take this opportunity to advise taxi drivers to avoid being hired by strange people to long destinations and encourage the taxi drivers to have assistants,” the police publicist said.
Wells hails from Chigwere Village in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Chikulamayembe in Rumphi District while Alick and Kasiya come from Kauluka Village in TA Chilamwera’s area in Thyolo District.
